


Christmas Past, Present and Future

by RainbowCubes



Series: Building a Nest [1]
Category: Glee
Genre: Christmas, M/M, fluffy stuffs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-03
Updated: 2013-12-09
Packaged: 2018-01-03 09:19:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 5,901
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1068756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RainbowCubes/pseuds/RainbowCubes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written for the Klaine Advent Drabble Challenge. Will be updated each day.<br/>Focuses on Kurt and Blaine as husbands as they start a family. May turn into a 'verse depending on the popularity. Prompts are also welcome after the 24 days are up!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Artist

Blaine shuddered with cold as he ducked into the hallway and wrestled the shopping bags through the house and onto the kitchen counter. He paused, listening hard. The house was unusually quiet for this time of day. Why wasn’t he being pounced on by an excited five year old or being licked to death by their giant dog? Kurt’s absence was understandable; he was probably wrapped up in another design or something else that needed his attention. But where the hell were the others? He frowned and poked his head around the door of Chloe’s play room, sighing and checking the different nooks and crannies as he went to do a thorough search of the living room. Totally empty. 

“Chloe?” he called, heart beginning to pound as he clattered up the stairs, flinging open doors and calling her name until he heard a familiar little voice shushing him angrily.

“Papa! Daddy’s sleeping! Shh!” she said, hands on hips as she fixed him with a stern look. Blaine smiled and went over to greet her, dropping onto his knees and hugging her tight. 

“Have you had a good day with Daddy?” he asked her softly, rubbing her back and kissing her forehead. Chloe nodded and pressed a finger to her lips, pointing seriously to Kurt and Blaine’s bedroom door and then making a pillow with her hands and pretending to sleep. Blaine looked at her, confused. 

“Daddy’s sleeping, silly!” Chloe hissed loudly, tugging Blaine into the room and showing him what she meant. Kurt was indeed fast asleep, mouth slightly open as he let out little puffs of air. Their dog Max was snoring loudly beside him, his huge paws tangled together on top of the sheets. The bedroom carpet was littered with crayons and paper, and in the middle was a five year old’s drawing of Kurt and Max dressed up as elves. 

Crouching down to get a better look, Blaine smiled as he saw how much effort his daughter had put into the drawing, and she beamed at him proudly, knowing she had done good. 

“This is brilliant, sweetie, did you do this all by yourself?” Blaine asked, and Chloe nodded, her eyes twinkling as she set about quietly tidying up. 

“For our Christmas cards, or just to give to Grandpa,” she explained, dropping down onto the floor next to Blaine and wriggling into his lap. “Daddy dressed up for me but he fell asleep on the bed while he was modelling,” she stumbled over the word, “so I took off the hat for him.” 

Blaine smiled and praised the picture some more until they heard a stirring on the bed, and Kurt sat up smiling bleary-eyed at them both. “Is it finished, Chloe?” he asked, and Chloe nodded as she handed him the drawing. “Wow, honey, that’s brilliant!” he exclaimed as best he could whilst still half asleep. Chloe thanked him and let him keep the drawing, waking Max and skipping off down to her bedroom. 

Blaine smiled at his husband and climbed up onto the bed, flopping down beside Kurt and rolling into his arms. “God, I’m exhausted,” he sighed, closing his eyes. “I got the ingredients for the pie like you asked,” he added. Kurt hummed in acknowledgement and stroked his hair lazily.

“I think we should enrol her in an art club or something, can we do that?” Kurt asked thoughtfully. “She loves it so much, and she draws absolutely everything.”

“She gets that from you. You’re awesome at drawing,” Blaine said fondly. “She’s our little artist,” he added, his voice proud as he shared a smile and a soft kiss with Kurt. They cuddled for a few moments more before a huge crash and a nervous, “Oh dear!” from Chloe’s room had them hurrying to her aid. Her shelves filled with colouring books and paintbrushes and other drawing materials suitable for five year olds were scattered all over the floor. Blaine laughed and knelt down to help her tidy up the mess while she bit her lip nervously. 

“Its okay honey,” Kurt reassured her, picking up the books and stacking them neatly back on the shelf. “Even the best artists get to be a little clumsy sometimes.” Chloe gave a small smile at the title and nodded proudly, taking the paintbrushes from Blaine’s hands to show him how to store them properly, the way that real artists should.


	2. Belong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kurt, Blaine and Chloe hope for a new arrival to the family.

            The three of them sat together in the office of the home, knees jiggling, hands clasped together, and offering nervous smiles. The social worker had disappeared into the house to find out where Ben, the four year old boy that the Hummel-Andersons’ were supposed to be adopting, had gotten to.

            “Why is he taking so long?” Chloe sighed, glancing at the clock with a suspicious frown as she flopped over onto the seat next to her. She was filled with sass for a seven year old, and Kurt fought the urge to roll his eyes at her dramatics. “It can’t have been only,” she counted on her fingers, “seven minutes since we got here!”

            Kurt and Blaine exchanged a nervous look. This week at their house for Christmas was the trial run to see whether they worked together as a family, and an impatient Chloe to deal with on top of that was _not_ going to help them. Blaine was just about to gently tell her to sit up properly when the door opened and she sprang up of her own accord.

 

            “Hey Benny!” she greeted, and the boy let her hug him. Kurt and Blaine crouched down to his level and gave him more gentle welcomes, brushing his blonde hair from his face and smiling kindly. After a little paperwork and the occasional input from the two kids, they bundled into the car, ready to start the Christmas holidays together as a family. Hopefully.

* * *

            It was later that night after dinner that Kurt poked his head into the living room to see Chloe patiently showing Ben how to draw a star to put on top of his Christmas tree picture. He smiled at them and rested his head on the door frame, melting back into Blaine’s arms when they wound around his waist and his chin rested on Kurt’s shoulder.

            “She’s good with him,” Blaine murmured, watching them both fondly as Ben gazed up at his potential new sister with adoring eyes. “I thought she might get mad or jealous when she realised how much work he might be sometimes, but she really loves him, doesn’t she?”

            Kurt nodded and turned his head, pecking his husband on the lips before returning to watching the kids. “They look like they just belong together, you know? Like, she’s gotten someone to look after and be mature for, and he’s gotten someone who can calm him down and give him guidance when things get a little too scary for him.”

            Ben hadn’t had the most pleasant start in life, and he still refused to speak at times, but even the staff at the children’s home had said that he had been improving in leaps and bounds since he started seeing more of the Hummel-Andersons’. Since the visits became closer he was even attempting to start conversations with people; something that they never thought would happen any time soon.

            “And they have us,” Blaine pointed out, smiling as Ben turned around excitedly to show them his successful star. “Just to make sure that they don’t get too mischievous,” he added, kissing Kurt’s cheek before diving into the mess of cushions and blankets that the kids had surrounded themselves with and proceeded to start a tickle war. Kurt laughed loudly and snapped a photograph, vowing to put it in a frame for them all to look back on, before sneakily moving closer and joining his husband in the attack.


	3. Consume

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something mysterious is happening with the baubles.

It started with one of the tiny baubles from the bottom of the tree going missing. Neither Kurt nor Blaine thought anything of it, simply assuming that it had been knocked off while vacuuming and rolled under the furniture. Two nights later, another bauble disappeared, and nothing more was said; probably just a trick of the eyes, something silly that they were paying too much attention to. The next weekend, half a string of tinsel was missing from the tree, barely noticeable to anybody but Kurt, with his sharp eye for interior design. They both looked suspiciously at Max, curled up in his dog bed and looking at them with an innocent puppy face. 

“It can’t have been Max, he was in our bed all night,” Kurt pointed out, running a hand over his face and sighing. 

“And he’s so huge that we would have woken up if he had moved from his spot,” Blaine added, fixing Max with a stare as though willing him to deny the charges pressed against him. 

“And surely he’d have an upset stomach if he was eating glitter?” Kurt suggested, looking at his husband and biting his lip. 

“It’s probably just an accident. Maybe we were remembering the tree from last year?” Blaine sighed, shrugging and going into the kitchen to make them both breakfast.

Nevertheless, they watched Max carefully as they curled up together on the couch that night. Every so often one of them would glance at the tree to see if there was anything else missing, anything at all. All night, Max was curled up in his bed, chewing a toy and watching the figures move on TV. The next morning, a wooden angel decoration was missing from the tree, and Max was still as innocent as ever. 

It was the night before Christmas Eve when Blaine finally solved the mystery. It was chilly in the house, and he and Kurt couldn’t sleep. He padded downstairs to get them both some warm milk and some chocolate (because what better time than three in the morning?) when he was distracted by the tinkling of bells. 

He poked his head around the living room door, to see Max with their working bell decoration dangling from his mouth. His eyes were wide and mischievous as he wagged his tail at Blaine. 

“Max!” he exclaimed, taking the bell from his mouth and wiping the slobber off with Max’s dog blanket when something blue and shiny caught his eye. He frowned and pulled back the rest of the blanket, revealing a stash of half-eaten tree decorations, from the tiny bauble to the wooden angel, the tinsel and the purple bauble that had gone missing the second night. Blaine turned around to scold Max, but the dog’s dopey eyes and his wagging tail made him crack up laughing. “Come on boy, back to bed,” he chuckled, petting behind his ears and closing the door behind him.   
Kurt was sitting up in bed and greeted Max enthusiastically, getting him all excited and tickling his tummy in the way that he loved.   
“We’re going to need to start closing all the doors at night,” Blaine said, climbing back into bed and curling up next to Kurt.   
“Why?” Kurt asked, pausing in his fussing to shoot a quizzical look at Blaine.   
Blaine grinned and tickled Max under his chin. “Because our dog has a new hobby.”


	4. Dirt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben gets a little confused.

“Up a bit!” Burt grunted, as he and Blaine hauled the Christmas tree into the large hall of the house. The hall was tall enough to house a real, tall tree, and the entire family couldn’t be more excited.      

            “Its hell to move, but you’ve got to admit, Burt, this is going to look amazing,” Blaine said, glancing back to check for no dogs and no kids as he tugged the tree the last little bit. They got their breath back as Kurt described the decoration plans to Carole, baby Posy on his hip, as Chloe and Ben skipped around them singing a Christmas song they had learned at school.

              Blaine and Burt got to work standing the tree upright and putting the legs on it before Kurt called them into the kitchen for lunch. Halfway through, Ben asked to be excused to go to the toilet, and returned ten minutes later with his hands rubbed red raw. When asked about it he claimed that he had just wanted to make sure his hands were “ever so clean” so that he didn’t ruin Kurt’s food. His face, still round and bright in the way that six year old faces should be, looked so innocent that none of them questioned it.

***

“Christmas!” Chloe yelled, jumping on the bed as Ben wriggled his way between his daddies. Kurt rolled over and glanced at the clock. Six o’clock, a big improvement on last year’s half past four.

They slowly made their way downstairs, Kurt taking Chloe and Ben downstairs to see if Santa had eaten his mince pie while Blaine coaxed Posy awake and brought her downstairs. The next hour was spend present opening, with excited thanks and cuddles and kisses coming from the two older children as their piles of presents were opened.

            “Eew!” Chloe exclaimed suddenly, breaking the perfect, festive atmosphere that had settled over the house as she yanked her hand back from where it was reaching for Posy’s present. “It’s dirty!” she said, holding out her hand so that they could all see.

            “That’s my compost from the garden,” Blaine muttered to Kurt as Chloe hurried off to wash her hand clean. Kurt crawled underneath the tree, pushing aside the tree skirt to reveal a small pile of compost surrounding the trunk of the tree where it was supported with the base. Kurt furrowed his brow and crawled back up, shrugging at Blaine and preparing to blame it on Max, happy in the corner with his new chew toy, when a tentative little hand tapped his shoulder.

            “But I thought all plants needed dirt so that they could live?” Ben asked quietly, biting his lip and twisting his fingers together. “I didn’t think it would still be there by this morning!”

            Kurt was just about to give him a gentle reprimand when he heard Blaine laughing behind them. He tried hard to remain calm and authoritative, but all too soon he was laughing too, opening his arms to give a very confused Ben a huge hug.

            “No honey, not like that,” he said between his chuckles, stroking his hair and sitting him on his lap. “But it was a lovely thought. Maybe next time ask me or Papa if you should feed the plants, okay?” he suggested, smiling as Ben nodded, still looking a little guilty until Blaine came over and gave him a hug as well.

            “What did I miss?” Chloe asked, a little nervously as she waved her hands to get rid of the last little bit of wetness from their thorough wash. Blaine brought her up to date and she looked at Ben, disgust clear on her face that she had just ended up touching _dirt_  of all things on Christmas day. The disgruntled faces didn’t last too long though, what with the presents and the dinner and the arrival of Burt and Carole with their load of gifts. All thoughts of dirt were soon forgotten.

 


	5. Echo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe and Ben are in the Christmas concert, but they just can't agree.

“No, Ben, you’re supposed to be after me and quieter!” Chloe said bossily, placing her hands on her hips as she practiced her and Ben’s parts for the school Christmas concert. Kurt shared a glance with Blaine and rolled his eyes while he stirred the sauce for their dinner.

"Why do _you_ get to go first and loud?” Ben demanded, shaking his slip of paper with the lyrics on in his sister’s face.   

“Because I’m in a different grade to you, and we’re older, and we go first. It’s because we’re more responsible and grown up,” Chloe said knowingly, nodding at her own words with a wise expression.

Blaine bit his lip from where he was sitting at the kitchen counter; Posy on his knee as he wrote out a report for one of his newest kids at the music therapy room of the special needs school he worked at. “That’s not going to go down well,” he muttered to Kurt, giving him an ‘I-told-you-so’ look when Ben’s angry little voice started yelling at his sister.

“At least it’s gotten him talking again?” Kurt offered weakly, glancing worriedly into the next room where the raised voices were coming from. Since he had gotten told off by a substitute teacher who wasn’t aware of his past, Ben had been shy and had barely spoken to any of them. It was a relief to hear him talking like his old self again, even if it was going to make for an awkward meal time.

Blaine simply sighed and started to pack away his work and strap Posy into her chair as Kurt served the dinner onto plates, and soon enough the whole family was around the table. Unfortunately, the argument had not been forgotten.

“Miss James said that we get to stand out just as much as the older kids,” Ben said, his voice level and calm as he tried to get his point across in a way that showed he was just as mature as his sister. In Ben’s opinion, that was super impressive, because he was six, and Chloe was nine, and so he had further to go before he was grown up.

Chloe just rolled her eyes.  “Of course you will,” she said, her voice patronising in a way that made Kurt and Blaine smile into their plates, and made Ben scowl at her. “But you get to shine when you’re singing _your_ song. Right now we’re practicing _my_ song. And in my song, you’re just an echo of what I sing. It’s meant to be really artistic.” She beamed proudly, her point being made perfectly. The room returned to normal noise level, excepting Posy banging her spoon loudly on the table of her high chair, and Blaine began telling them about the arrangements to pick Grandpa and Grandma up from the airport the following day, when he was interrupted once more by his son.

“But I don’t want to be an echo!” Ben exclaimed indignantly, crossing his arms and glaring at Chloe. Kurt sighed; this was going to be a long evening.


	6. Falter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blaine seeks comfort when he realises the kids are growing up.

Kurt came home from the office to a very excited dog, and silence from the rest of the house. He carefully hung up his coat, placing his briefcase on the kitchen island so that he could work on the designs inside it later before patting his thigh and gesturing for Max to follow him as he went in search of the rest of the rabble.

                His worries were soon put to rest when he heard a moan of frustration, probably from Chloe, and a squeaky little voice that was most likely from Posy complaining that “It’s my turn!”     

Kurt grinned and headed upstairs, following the sounds as he heard their keyboard, a guitar, the ukulele and the drums coming from Blaine’s music room. He poked his head around the door to see Blaine sat on the stool in front of the keyboard with the kids scattered around him, instruments and random shoes scattered all over the floor.

“Daddy!” Posy greeted, jumping up and throwing herself into his arms. Ben and Chloe waved from the floor and looked at Blaine mutinously. From the time, Kurt guessed that they had been sat there for over an hour while Blaine tried to perfect another exercise for his music therapy sessions. More often than not, the experiments proved that Blaine’s ideas were not the best for the situation they were needed for, but occasionally he would stumble across the perfect exercise to suit a child’s needs, and it put him in a good mood for days afterward. And as Blaine always insisted, as long as it worked for the kids, it was all okay. That was his job after all.

“Hey kiddo,” Kurt said softly, giving Posy a hug and twirling a lock of hair around his fingers. “I was hoping you could come help me with dinner, or is Papa still in need of your services?”

Posy giggled and looked around at Blaine, her smile falling when Chloe jumped up and announced that she was off to wash her hands to help Kurt, and Ben soon did the same. Posy loved her time with both fathers, and her young mind just couldn’t understand why her older siblings just didn’t want to sit with Papa for hours and listen to him sing a song specially for them, or why they didn’t want to stand in the shopping centre with Daddy while he searched for the perfect new outfit that would match their eyes. To a five year old girl who worshipped her family, what could be better?

Chloe’s reaction was understandable; she was thirteen, she had friends she wanted to talk to, a picture she wanted to finish painting so that they could get it framed and given to Burt and Carole as a Christmas present. Ben also had an excuse in the form of a new edition of the science magazine he was addicted to reading, and would re-read until it was dog-eared and almost falling apart. They had their reasons, and both Kurt and Blaine had known that this day would come sometime soon, but it still made them both share a sad little look as Posy sat dejectedly on the floor, picking up an instrument and playing it quietly.

“Help tomorrow, eh Posy?” Kurt suggested, smiling brightly at her. Apparently that was all the reassurance she needed because she immediately went back to helping Blaine as much as she could manage, as Kurt left the room and went to see to the older kids. The entire night was subdued however, with something not quite sitting well. Blaine’s smile not reaching his eyes, his usual input missing at the dinner table.

*

“Are you okay, honey?” Kurt asked gently as he finished off his moisturising routine and patted his face with a towel. Blaine glanced up from his papers that he was staring at.

“Sorry, Kurt, what did you say?” he asked apologetically, blinking rapidly and shooting glares at the papers with his ideas for exercises on them. Kurt smiled fondly and moved to crawl into bed, taking the papers from Blaine and placing them on his own side of the bed, ignoring Blaine’s many protestations.

“You’re miles away,” he said, brushing some curls from Blaine’s face and kissing his temple. “Are you okay? You seem stressed.”

Blaine sighed and nuzzled closer to Kurt, staring up at the ceiling. “I haven’t had a new idea in months. It’s been horrible, and I know I don’t _need_ one exactly, but I want one. I want to give the kids something new to do; I want to make it perfect for them. But recently I just feel like I’ve been in a rut.”

Kurt hummed in sympathy and wrapped his arms around Blaine, teasing his hair with his fingers and pressing tiny kisses to the top of his head. “It’s been a really tough year, Blaine, what with Dad’s health scare, losing your grandmother, Posy’s surgery, your parents losing most of the business and that girl you had that... you know,” he paused for a moment, remembering the time when Blaine had come home in tears with the news that a girl who he had seen for years for therapy had ended up in a serious car accident and couldn’t play anymore. The information had truly shaken Blaine up, and he had tried to cling closer to his own children out of protective instincts. “It’s natural that you’re struggling,” he continued softly, “you’re stressed and over-worked and exhausted and you need a break. Finish your sessions for this week, and then you break up for Christmas with the kids. Just relax, and we’ll make sure we do lots of family activities. I know it’s been horrible on all of us but next year is a new start. Try again after a break and I’m sure you’ll at least feel a little more like your old self.”

Blaine smiled and pressed a chaste kiss to Kurt’s lips before burrowing closer to him again. “I just feel like I’m crap at my job, and the kids are getting annoyed with me, and it’s not fair on you and...”

“Shh, Blaine,” Kurt soothed, holding him close. “It’s okay. You’re doing fine. You’ve had a perfect record since you started at that place; everyone makes mistakes at some point, it was bound to happen soon. And as for the kids, well, isn’t it our job to annoy the hell out of them?” Blaine smiled sadly and clutched at Kurt’s shirt, trying to get even closer, if that was possible. “Seriously, Blaine, it’s just the age that they’re at. Don’t think about it.”

Blaine sighed and shuffled back a little, gazing up at Kurt with his sad eyes. “And what about you?” he asked softly. Kurt smiled, and brushed a gentle finger up and down Blaine’s arm.

“Didn’t I promise to always make it safe for you?” he shrugged. “I’m not backing out now, Blaine Hummel-Anderson. You’re safe for life.”


	7. Gift

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cooper's presence is irritating Blaine, but his Christmas present to Kurt soon cheers the both of them up.

With everybody staying over at their place for the holidays, there hadn’t been a moment to spare for Blaine to give Kurt his Christmas present. Finally, in the early hours of Christmas morning, when all of the rest of the house was getting ready for bed and it was time to add the gift tags to all of the presents, they got a moment together. It was a blessing in the chaos that their house would become again once the sun rose.

They sat together, the doors closed behind them as they checked each present to ensure that they were putting the right labels on each one, and would share the occasional smile as they enjoyed the silence.

“Who knew hosting Christmas would be so stressful?” Kurt sighed, picking up another present from under the tree and adding a tag for Posy.

“It’s the addition of Cooper. Remind me to tell Mom and Dad not to bring him along next time,” Blaine said, glaring at the ceiling that was the floor to the guest room Cooper was using.

Kurt pressed his lips together in an attempt to hide his smile; Blaine and Cooper’s love-hate relationship hadn’t settled down as they got older, rather the opposite. “You can’t just leave him to spend Christmas by himself, honey. He’s your brother.”

“He’s forty-five years old, Kurt, he can sort his own holidays out next year,” Blaine scowled, picking at a fancy ribbon decorating Chloe’s new easel, a present that would definitely have her grinning like the Cheshire cat for hours after she had opened it.

Kurt gently batted Blaine’s hands away, pointedly sliding the easel out of the way so that Blaine didn’t tear the paper. He put Ben’s beginner’s microscope set to the side in favour of wrapping his arms around his husband’s shoulders and kissing his cheek. “The kids love him, and he really has settled down these last few years.” He rested his head on Blaine’s shoulder, the warmth from his body coming through the soft material of his pyjama top. “And besides, isn’t Christmas meant to be for magically overcoming grudges in the name of family and festive cheer?”

Blaine glared at him, but there was no malice behind it. “He just does my head in,” he said tiredly. They sat in silence for a moment longer until Blaine grinned and quickly turned his head to kiss Kurt before burrowing under the tree to find his present to Kurt, just a small envelope.

“I thought we got rid of the presents on Christmas Eve tradition when we adopted Ben?” Kurt said in surprise, smiling widely despite his confusion.

Blaine smiled and pecked Kurt’s lips, before handing him a card too. “It’s just to say thank you at the end of a really good year for us,” he said proudly. “It’s for both of us, but it’s my treat,” he said softly, as he watched Kurt open the envelope, and his eyes light up.

“Blaine, what is it?” he asked, but from his tone it was clear that he already knew, and couldn’t be more excited.

Blaine grinned and accepted Kurt’s enthusiastic hug, letting Kurt kiss him and turn over the small booklet as he took in the words.

“I’ve got your parents on board too. When we go to Greece next spring we’re dropping the kids off in Ohio and spending another five days, just the two of us, in a honeymoon suite. We’ve barely had any time to ourselves since Chloe was born, what with raising her and both of us climbing the ladders up our careers. I wouldn’t have had it any other way, honestly I wouldn’t change a thing, but I thought we could just recharge and reconnect. And we’ll be back just in time for the kids to go back to school,” he explained as Kurt beamed at him.

“Thank you!” Kurt laughed. “I never would have thought... this is perfect. It’s just what we all needed, and Dad and Carole have been offering to take them for a few days for years!”

“So you like it?” Blaine asked, smiling proudly as Kurt kissed him again.

Kurt nodded emphatically and wiped his eyes. “Merry Christmas, honey,” he whispered.

“Merry Christmas, Kurt.”

They shared another sweet kiss before going back to the task at hand, sharing little smiles and kisses until they went up to get some sleep, curled together underneath the warm sheets while the sky outside got brighter, announcing another Christmas day was finally here.


	8. Human

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max gives an insight into his life with his humans.

            Max Hummel-Anderson was a patient dog. Give him his tummy tickles every couple of hours and he was happy for the rest of the day. He was a rescue dog, found at the side of the road abandoned as a puppy. When Blaine had dragged Kurt to the dog’s home, Max had been tiny. His fur was dull, his eyes were sad, and his tail barely wagged. After six months of living at home with Kurt and Blaine, he had doubled in size, his fur was long and fluffy, his eyes were only sad when he was being made to wait for a delicious treat, and his tail was so waggly that Kurt once joked that they had no need for a vacuum.

            When the baby came home, her little face bright red as she cried, her fists grasping at thin air, Max would lie by her side for hours, sniffing her occasionally (often greeted by a very unpleasant smell) and the cries would turn to coos, which would make Max’s tail wag even faster.

            When the quiet boy came to live with them, he would play with Max all day. Nobody minded, or got jealous, and Max loved it. This new, scared human was feeling better all because Max gave the best cuddles.

            And when the tiny girl came home, and grew up a little more, Max was her patient in hospital, her mountain for cars, her horse, her catwalk model... the list was endless. But Max didn’t care. He put up with it all because at the end of the night after his dinner, he would get cuddles and tummy rubs from all of the humans.

            One thing that Kurt noticed over the years was just how much Max would act like a human sometimes. It wasn’t that he got up on two legs and took the kids to school, but more that he didn’t seem very _dog-like_. He would sit with them to watch TV, perhaps a game with Ben and Posy, and he would seem as enthralled as they were. His tail would wag if they won the game, and he would fall asleep if they didn’t.

            Or there were the times when the kids would jump into Kurt and Blaine’s bed, and Max would soon follow. Or the times when he would sigh loudly when an afternoon was particularly dull, or his disgruntled face when his fur got wet. Max seemed to have so many human characteristics, despite being very much a dog.

            None of that mattered to the Hummel-Anderson’s though. Whatever species, he was their big lug of a dog who barked at the air freshener and jumped maniacally into piles of leaves. He was part of the family.


	9. Ice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Hummel-Anderson family takes a trip to the ice rink.

            “Now remember, it’s okay if you fall over, but try to stay on as long as you can, alright? Ice-skating is fun!” Kurt said, as Blaine finished lacing up Chloe’s skates for her. Ben clung to Kurt’s sleeve, his pudgy hand gripping tight as he tried to keep his balance.

            “Daddy and I came skating here one Christmas,” Blaine added, sharing a fond smile with Kurt as he got Chloe to wiggle her foot to make sure that they were comfortable and she jumped up excitedly. She grabbed Blaine’s hand, grinning up at him as though all of her dreams were coming true, and began ushering them all towards the gap in the railing so that they could show their wristbands to the attendant.

            Blaine got onto the ice first, a little wobbly but soon getting the hang of it. He then reached out a hand for Chloe, who immediately fell over, clambered back up and began skittering around on the ice with a toothy smile on her face.

            “Come on, Benny, its easy peasy!” she called, losing her balance, flopping onto the ice again before suddenly springing back up with a giggle. She reached out for Ben’s hand, the one not gripping Kurt’s sleeve, and then took Blaine’s hand, and the four of them began to slowly make their way around the rink. Chloe would speak softly to Ben each time he fell over, and would laugh loudly whenever she fell over herself. Soon, the kids had enough balance and enough confidence that Ben loosened his grip on Kurt’s hand and let Chloe skate with him around the edge of the rink, both of them tripping and sliding everywhere, their smiles showing that they just didn’t care about that.

            When they all stopped for a break, Blaine decided to show off a little, gliding effortlessly through groups of people while the two kids looked on in awe. He was soon joined by Kurt, who took his hand and they skated around with the rest of the couples.

            “Feeling nostalgic?” Kurt called over the speakers playing Christmas carols.

            Blaine nodded and let go of Kurt’s hand, doing a tight twirl and linking their fingers once more. “I’m dreaming of a white Christmas,” he began to sing, smirking as Kurt shook his head quickly.

            “We’ve only had Ben at home for two damn days, Blaine, we can’t be the embarrassing dads’ yet!” he hissed, pointing over to the two kids, now back to looking like little Bambi’s with their legs flying in all directions.

            Blaine laughed and kissed Kurt’s temple. “Can we do it next year?” he pouted.

            Kurt rolled his eyes and nodded. “Next year, honey,” he promised, squeezing Blaine’s hand and attempting a twirl, before falling flat on his bottom and making the two kids laugh so much that they both joined him, landing in a heap together on their side of the rink.


End file.
